Minna shakes her head. “That’s awful. I don’t think I’d want to be a member of a place one of my family wasn’t allowed to join.”
I want to tell her everything. But Henrik claps his hands together.
“The first dance, ladies and gentleman! Kade and Minna, please take to the floor.” He sits down.
I help Minna navigate the tables in her huge dress and we walk together onto the dancefloor. I’m trying to remember which music choice I sent to the assistant whenSexual Healingby Marvin Gaye starts to boom through the speakers.
Minna giggles, putting her hands on my shoulders. “You picked this?”
I clench my jaw. “I absolutely did not. I could cheerfully murder the guy who was meant to arrange this.”
She presses a little closer to me and the anger starts to leave my body instantly. “I wonder how he got it so wrong. Did you send him an email?”
“I dictated my requests and sent him a file. Maybe he used text to speech, or an AI, and it got lost in translation.” I hold her waist, pulling her closer still. Although this is all for the benefit of the crowd watching us, I want it to be real. To be dancing with this beautiful, mesmerizing girl, breathing her in, those distracting curves pressed against me.
“Well, if he hadn’t made this series of mistakes, we’d never have met.” She looks up at me. This close, there is a sprinkling of adorable freckles across the bridge of her nose and a little scar at the top of her cheek.
I run my finger over the scar. “How did you get this, goddess?”
“When I was little, I was really into writing stories. I mean, I still am now I’m big, but as a kid I went so deep into them. It was like I was in a different world and it took a while to come back through the door to real life. I was writing a story about fairies and Mom called for dinner, I walked straight into the corner of the door.” She rolls her eyes.
The song ends and Minna stops dancing. I pull her even closer. “Tell me if I should let you go. But I like dancing with you.”
She smiles up at me. “I like it too. I think we’re doing a good job of convincing everyone we’re together, don’t you?”
“I should hope so.” My dick is throbbing, almost in time to the music. A steady pulse rises through the floor, beating her name like a drum inside my head. Minna, Minna, Minna.MyMinna.
We dance together for the next five songs, her curves soft against the hard lines of my body. She’s bewitched me and there’s no way I can let her go. When I look up, some of the guests have left and the crowd is starting to thin out. Granny walks over with Palladio in tow.
“My driver’s taking me home. I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than stay here after that speech. That utter pillock Henrik has me riled up. Don’t stop dancing, you two!” She flutters her fingers and then walks Palladio around the remaining dancers on the floor.
“That’s a shame,” Minna smiles up at me.
“A shame?”
“I like your grandma very much. She’s sparky. I like your dog too.” Her voice is a little woozy.
“Thank you. And it’s past your bedtime, goddess.” I pick her up and carry her off the dancefloor, to the amusement of the people still dancing. She’s trying to protest about me carrying her, but at the same time she’s laughing.
The elevator takes us up to the third floor. Minna’s talking about her latest novel, which didn’t do well. I make a mental note of the name so I can read it.
She looks around the hallway as we exit the elevator. “Which one is mine?”
“Your what?” I ask.
“Myroom, Mr. Harrington. I hope the assistant didn’t forget to book me one.”
I smile at her. “We’re newlyweds. One room.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “One room? Holy smokes!”
I laugh. There’s something about her old-fashioned expressions that tickles me. I don’t usually laugh this easily.
I unlock the door and hold it open for my gorgeous bride, forgetting for a second this is all an act. My chest tightens and my dick throbs with my need for her. She walks in front of me and then skids to a stop.
“Kade. There’s only one bed.”
I smile back at her.
